Day 2: Monday

   Between time zone changes, jet lag, and sleep deprivation, today seemed to blur into last night. The second leg of our flight, departing from Charlotte, was delayed 3 hours due to over bookings and mechanical troubles. Thankfully they caught the plane problem before take of. The plane ride was about 9 hours, making all of us really appreciate/ miss beds. "The best part of the flight was the movies!" (Lane) commenting on the individual entertainment centers on the flight. "There was so much to choose from. Between movies, music, and games it was hard to decide!" (Lindsey) As soon as we landed (11:00 AM Italy time, 4 PM South Dakota time) we started our busy day.

   After claiming our luggage and getting our first stamp in our passport ever, we met our trip coordinator Laura, a Roman native. We loaded our tour bus, got radio transmitter devices, and began a very general tour of Rome. Following that we met another staple person in the trip, our tour guide. Full of information she guided us on a walking tour of parts of ancient Rome. Trevino fountain was the first stop where we each enjoyed our first Italian gelato (which was delicious) and tossed a "good luck" coin into the elaborate fountain. Following that we passed innumerable designer clothing stores with  names I cannot pronounce and prices I would scoff at. Among plenty of others we also visited the imfamous patheon. 

   Seeing everything about this city is breathtaking whether it be the ancient history, the outstanding architecture and engineering, the brilliant food, the lovely language, or the obvious presence of something greater than ourselves: the global network of fellow Christians and Catholics alike.

Buon Giorno! 

-Cecilia

Whoever reads this, I'm am incredibly sorry for any and all grammar, punctuation, and spelling mistakes within this post! It has been a long day and it is bed time here. :)